Essendon VFL senior coach gives his thoughts on each of the 13 AFL-listed Bombers who featured in Sunday’s 41-point victory over the Northern Blues at Windy Hill.

Marty Gleeson 

Stats: 22 disposals, six marks, two tackles, five rebounds 50s

From the coach: I thought Marty was good - it was probably his best game of the year for us. He got himself into some really good positions defensively, and to have 22 possessions from the backline shows he was getting a fair bit of the ball. He defended well at times too. He was good in some one-on-one contests and competed hard at ground level, so I thought it was a solid game from him.

Jordan Ridley

Stats: 19 disposals, four marks, two tackles

From the coach: ‘Rids’ played inside-mid for the first half - just getting him around the ball. He had some really nice inside-50s and used the ball well, and then in the second half he went back and defended hard at ground level but also in the air. He denied Northern of any really good scoring opportunities, particularly in the last quarter. I thought all our back six were pretty good on the day and he fitted pretty seamlessly into that.


Jordan Ridley was solid in defence. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Zac Clarke 

Stats: Nine disposals, six tackles, four inside 50s, 28 hit-outs 

From the coach: Zac played a mixture of ruck and forward. He gave us a reasonable contest in the ruck with 28 hitouts from 50 per cent game-time, but didn’t get a lot of the ball around the ground. We’d like to see him put himself in a position where he can compete down the line a little bit more, and also have more impact as a forward, but I thought his last quarter in terms of his intensity really lifted around the ball, which set the tone for our boys to have a really good quarter.

David Myers

Stats: 26 disposals (14 contested possessions), four tackles, seven inside 50s, two goals

From the coach: ‘Myersy’ was pretty stock standard as an inside-mid – he had 14 contested possession and had plenty of grunt work through the middle. With 26 possessions and two beautiful goals, it was a class game from him. He’s in some really consistent form at VFL level.


David Myers continued his outstanding VFL form. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Jordan Houlahan

Stats: Six disposals, three tackles, two goals

From the coach: Obviously people are talking about his mark, but ‘Houlas’ also kicked two nice goals. He played his role and finished off really well, which was probably the difference in terms of when he hasn’t had a lot of possessions and hasn’t had those goals. He had more impact on the game and just the six possessions, but competed where we needed him to and finished off with two clutch goals, which is a reasonable effort from a medium forward.

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Stats: 21 disposals, 10 marks, two tackles, four rebound 50s 

From the coach: I really liked Brandon’s game in defence – he’s building on some really consistent form. He took another 10 marks, and was hard in one-on-one contests, which is when he’s at his best. Four rebound-50s and 21 possessions overall as well is a really nice game from him again.

 
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher's strong marking was on display against the Blues. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)

Brayden Ham

Stats: 13 disposals, four marks, four tackles, three goals

From the coach: ‘Hammy’ didn’t get a lot of the ball, but it was one of those games where every possession he got was real quality. He finished with three goals playing a mixture of wing and forward, and some of his offensive transition was certainly a highlight. There were also a couple of ‘2v1’ efforts, where he won the ball, got the ball back inside 50 and kicked a goal on one occasion. It’s not easy playing that role but he seemed to play really well, made the most of his disposals and was really effective with the footy.

Jake Long 

Stats: 12 disposals, five marks, three tackles, three rebound 50s

From the coach: Jake again defended pretty hard with good endeavour and good vigour. He probably didn’t find as much of the ball this week with only the 12 disposals, but it’s probably due partly to him not getting freed up with our structure and having to defend a little bit more. I thought he did really well though. He didn’t really lose any one-on-one contests and when he did get the ball, tried to run and carry and take the ball on the ground for us. While we’d like him to get a little bit more of the footy, when he did get it on the weekend he was quite effective.

Michael Hartley

Stats: 18 disposals, four marks, six rebound 50s

From the coach: It was a stock standard game from  ‘Harts’ – playing mainly on their changing ruck, he gave us a contest and competed hard. He also got the 18 possessions with some really aggressive kicking with his good legs, and set up a couple of goals for us. He looked to be more consistent in competing in the air, and was also part of that back six who I thought were really good on the day in terms of helping each other, communicating and keeping Northern to just six goals, which is a terrific effort. 

Trent Mynott

Stats: 24 disposals, five tackles, three inside 50s

From the coach: Trent got progressively better. He had 24 touches and found a bit of the footy but we’d like him to be a little bit cleaner. He started getting himself into some good spots. I spoke last week about him having a nice platform to build on, so I think he took a step forward again and is not far away from returning to his top form.

Tom Jok 

Stats: 17 disposals, five marks, three tackles, three inside 50s 

From the coach: ‘Jokky’ played a mixture of wing and forward - he transitioned hard up and down and put himself into some good spots. The wing role is a tough role in terms of the structural set-up, but I thought for the most part he did it pretty well which is a good progression from last week. He’s still on some restricted game-time, so after the bye he’ll be unrestricted and will be able to use his athleticism and running ability to work teams over. He’s building back into some good form post-injury.

Matt Dea

Stats: 18 disposals, nine marks, six rebound 50s

From the coach: Again part of that back six, Matty Dea just sets the tone down there. He took nine marks and competed really hard - six rebound 50s and 18 disposals also from a defender is really ruthless. He’s dogged in his one-on-one contests and we love that about him. I thought his game was really good again. 

Will Snelling

Stats: 23 disposals, eight marks, five tackles, four inside 50s

From the coach: For Will’s first look at Essendon’s system, he showed he’s more than capable at the level. 23 disposals, five tackles - all the stuff that we knew about him coming over. He’s still finding his feet in terms of our set-up and his role within our team, but he’s obviously got some natural football ability and found plenty of the ball. He probably just needs to have a bit more composure once he gets to know his teammates and work through our structure - that’s the important part, and hopefully he can play some AFL footy in the back half of the year.


New Bomber Will Snelling impressed in his VFL debut. (Photo: Ben Johnstone)